"There was a guy from the MiLB that wanted to talk to me, but we still had a game to go (I thought)," added Clapp about the confusion following Tuesday's win. "We found out the next morning we clinched."

Holding the tiebreaker over the Tigers, the 'Cats had officially sealed a playoff spot as winners of the New York-Penn League's Stedler Division and as any good leader would do, Clapp didn't want all that hard work to go unnoticed.

So, Clapp and his coaches gathered the entire team, unexpectedly, down in the visitors bullpen before Wednesday's game at MCU Park in Brooklyn. And Clapp, determined to keep the element of surprise, was sure to keep his game face on, scolding members of the team that he, himself, had allowed to stay out later the night before and then decided had stayed out a little "too long."

"Everyone thought I was (upset)," Clapp remembers after fining the offenders as part of his deceptive plan and then turning his attention to the group. "We had the whole team doing push-ups."

A good leader is always fair, of course.

And so with the team sharing the punishment, down in the dirt of the bullpen, a cork popped and shot up over the bullpen wall. And with the team still fulfilling its manager's orders, the staff sprayed champagne down on the backs of its stunned players.

"It's been a lot of hard work, diligence, on-field play and making them understand A-B-C baseball," Clapp said. "I could never have guessed our record in the beginning (of the season) but could see good baseball out of this group."

And just like their leader, the ValleyCats players know the job isn't done.

On Friday, Tri-City used a pair of homers from right fielder Jarrod McKinney and cruised to a 7-4 win over the visiting Vermont Lake Monsters at Bruno Stadium. Trailing 1-0, The ValleyCats scored three runs in the second, keyed by McKinney's two-run blast over the left-field wall, his first of the night. Tri-City held a 4-2 advantage before breaking the game open in the fifth with three more runs. The 'Cats now have won 46 games this season, just four away from tying their regular-season franchise record of 50, set back in 2004.

"Getting one out at a time, that's been the gist of our season," Clapp said. "Our team does a real nice job of staying humble. Numbers are numbers, you can be happy or mope. But if you can focus on the moment, the right things will happen."

After Friday's game, there are 12 games remaining before the playoffs. Clapp, thanks to superstition, doesn't really want to share the rest of the team's goals but fans and opponents alike can be sure the ValleyCats are aware of them.

"Obviously, we want to keep the hammer," added Clapp referring to home-field advantage in the upcoming playoffs.

Whatever they have planned, the rest of the league can be assured the 'Cats believe this is just the beginning.